Welcome to HCO 670 Social and Ethical Issues in Public Health

Professor: Lisle S. Hites, MS, MEd, PhD

Teaching Assistant: Jessica L. Thames, MPH

Fall 2016

Introduction to the Course:

This class examines ethical issues related to public health research and practice, and explores the social issues that complicate ethical decision-making. There are no pre-requisites. This class is open to all students with graduate standing. It is a required course for the MPH in Health Policy, the MPH in Public Health Preparedness, the MSPH in Outcomes Research and the DrPH in Public Health Management.

Description and Purpose:

All professional decision making in the health arena involves two components: (1) a technical decision requiring the application of scientific knowledge to health problems and (2) an ethical decision requiring that choices for action reflect the values and interests held by those involved with the health problem. While all decisions reflect some value system, we are sometimes unaware of which guiding values are involved in different choices and what the consequences of the choices are for different stakeholders. Other times, professionals face the need to make choices that conflict with values held by some stakeholders involved in the health problem. In addition, it is frequently the case that social and political circumstances make it difficult to carry out a decision that is in accord with the values of participants. Such social issues can also obscure the ethical consequences of decisions.